Fate
by Psycho Babble
Summary: One of the the Remnants did something a number of years ago that has consequences he's just learning of.
1. Chapter 1

Fate.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7 AC.

The character of Amanda Jane (AJ) belongs to me and may not be used without permission.

Notes: Some of the characters may act a little out of character. Timeframe is different also, with Kadaj and his brothers being in their mid/late twenties. Fanfic contains child abuse.

AU

Rating: R, M.

The door to the small shop creaked loudly as Kadaj pushed it open and walked inside, he was followed by his brother; Yazoo. Kadaj Had a slight sneer on his face, of all the places he'd like to be this was definitely not high on the list. The shop had obviously seen better days, a couple of years ago. But they were running low on supplies and had no other choice.

"W-what can I h-help you with, sir?" A voice came from behind the counter and as Kadaj turned in that direction he saw a girl climb up on a stool behind the counter and look at him expectantly. She was small, thin and she had greyish coloured, messy hair that fell just below her shoulders.

"We need food and toiletries," he told her. She pointed with one skinny hand to an aisle behind Yazoo.

"S-soap and other s-s-stuff is there," she said. Yazoo seemed to spin around on one heel and walked down that aisle.

"What k-kind of f-food do you want?" She asked. Instead of answering her he stepped closer to the counter and could see now that she had a blackened eye and a split lip. He didn't really care much.

"That's a strange hair colour," he said.

"The m-mother says t-that I get it f-from m-m-my father," she shrugged and then winced slightly.

"D-dry food is on the s-same aisle as the t-t-t-t…" she took a deep breath and tried again.

"T-tinned food, the one n-next to the s-soap," she finished. Kadaj headed down that aisle. She clambered down from the stool and followed him in case he needed any help. A door banged open somewhere near the back of the store, the girl jumped

"REMNANT!" A female voice screamed. Kadaj glanced toward the back of the store.

"REMNANT BITCH!"

"W-w-w-what? I'm h-here, w-we h-h-have c-customers!" The girl called in a slightly shrill voice.

"I don't give a fuck!" The woman, who was very drunk, stumbled towards them and grabbed the child by her hair, yanking the girl towards herself.

"What did I tell you about the television, you little bitch?!" She backhanded the girl with her other hand.

"I-I-I didn't t-touch it!" The girl said.

"You're nothing but a lying little Remnant whore!" The woman snapped, raising her hand to hit the child again, but Kadaj grabbed her by the wrist.

"It's been a long time, Sophie," his tone clearly said that he didn't think it was long enough. The woman seemed to see Kadaj for the first time, she dropped the child, who scuttled away from her.

"Which one are you? What the fuck are you doing here?" She seemed shocked more than anything else. Kadaj glanced at the child again, then back to Sophie.

"I think you and I need to talk," he said.

"Yazoo!" He called. His brother appeared at the end of the aisle, some soap and toothpaste in his hands.

"Yes, brother?" He asked.

"Take the kid outside for a few minutes; Sophie and I need to talk privately," Kadaj said calmly. Sophie reached out with one hand towards the girl, but Kadaj stopped her.

"Alone!" He snapped. Yazoo put the items he was carrying into a bag and gestured for the child to follow him.

"Come on," he said to her. She glanced uneasily at Sophie, as if afraid of doing something she didn't have permission to do.

"Go on," Sophie finally said to her. After a moment the girl followed Yazoo out of the shop. She picked up a stick that lent against the door outside the shop and started to draw in the dirt with it. Yazoo went over to the old truck that he and his brothers had come to the shop in. Then he leaned against the truck while he waited for Kadaj to come out.

"Who's the kid?" Loz; who was sitting in the back of the truck, asked him.

"No idea," Yazoo replied. He glanced over at the child who was still drawing with her stick and ignoring them as they talked. She put her stick down and looked in the door of the shop to make sure Sophie wasn't watching her, she went down on her knees by the shops door, reaching under the steps she pulled out a piece of mouldy bread that bits of dirt clinging to it, she wiped some of the dirt off then ate the bread in three quick bites. Then she picked up her stick and started drawing again.

"Did she just eat that?" Loz asked in disgust. Yazoo nodded, his face impassive.

"Yeah," he said. The door to the shop slammed open and Kadaj came out, followed closely by Sophie. Kadaj looked at the child, and gestured with his head towards the truck.

"You're coming with us," he told her. She looked up at him, and then her eyes flashed quickly to her mother, who just stared down at her, a pissed off expression on her face.

W-what?" She asked, not quite sure she'd heard him properly.

Loz jumped down from the back of the truck and walked towards them.

"Sophie?" He asked. Kadaj looked back at his brother.

"I'll explain later, Loz," he said.

"Come on," Kadaj said again, a little impatiently. Her head jerked up and down in a quick nod and she hurried after him. Sophie watched for a moment, before following them, drawing one foot back she kicked the girl in the back. The child made an 'oof' noise and sprawled forward in the dirt. Sophie reached down to pick her up by the hair. Kadaj turned around and stalked back towards them. The child didn't seem to know which way to move, thinking he was coming for her; instead she tried to make herself appear as small as possible. Kadaj stepped right over her and grabbed hold of Sophie's hand, he pushed her back against the wall behind her.

"Don't do that. She's one of us now, if you touch her again you'll answer to me," He said in a low deadly voice. The kid had gotten back to her feet by then and she looked up at Kadaj as he spoke to Sophie. Kadaj waited a few moments until Sophie nodded in understanding. Kadaj looked down at the girl.

"Come on," his tone a little gentler than it had been before. She glanced silently at Sophie and quickly followed him before the woman could change her mind again. When the got to the truck Kadaj lifted her up onto the back of it and she crawled forward and sat down. Loz climbed up onto the truck and sat down opposite her. Kadaj and Yazoo got in the front, Yazoo driving. Kadaj opened the small window partition between the front seats and the back of the truck.

"These are my brothers Yazoo," he gestured to the driver and Yazoo lifted one hand of the steering wheel in greeting, as he started the engine.

"That's Loz and I'm Kadaj," Kadaj looked back at her and she nodded silently.

"TAKE THE LITTLE REMNANT BITCH! I DON'T WANT HER NO MORE!" Yelled Sophie at the departing truck. The girl seemed to shrink lower down in the back of the truck as if trying to make herself invisible. Kadaj looked down at her and sighed.

"Look at me," he said to her. She glanced up at him a little fearfully.

"You don't have to be afraid of us, we aren't like her," his voice for once held a note of kindness. The look on her face clearly said that she didn't believe him.

"What's your name?" Yazoo asked, not taking his eyes from the road. She seemed confused by the question.

"He wants to know what people call you," Kadaj explained. She muttered something that couldn't be heard.

"What was that?"

"R-r-remnant Bitch," she said quietly. Loz frowned at her, Kadaj shrugged.

"No, your name, you do have a name, don't you?" he asked. She looked at him for a long moment and then shrugged.

"I d-don't know w-what y-you want m-m-me to say…" she stuttered finally. Kadaj reached inside his coat and pulled out a thin envelope; peeling it open he took out a piece of paper and unfolded it.

"Amanda Jane, is that your name?" He asked after reading it.

"I n-never h-heard it b-b-before," she mumbled. Kadaj glanced at Loz, and Loz had the distinct feeling that Kadaj wanted him to say something.

"How about we call you AJ?" Loz asked her. She shrugged, not looking at him.

"I-i-if you w-want," she said. Loz's frown deepened.

"What do you want to be called?" He asked. She shrugged again and didn't answer him. They travelled in silence for a few minutes.

"Y-you s-s-said that I w-was one of y-y-ou now?" She said so quietly, Kadaj almost didn't hear her.

"That's right," he replied. She shook her head.

"W-w-why?" She asked.

"You're half remnant," Kadaj told her. She shook her head again.

"N-no, I'm n-not-t-thing," she mumbled.

"Your mother lied to you, you are one of us…well half Remnant that is," He said. She gave him a confused look.

"H-how can I b-b-be half Remnant?" She asked. Loz's mouth was open and a look of surprise on his face, he looked at Kadaj.

"Uh…Loz will explain it to you later," Kadaj said.

"B-b-but…" she stuttered to a stop. Loz could see her looking at him and could tell that she was afraid of him. He understood now why Kadaj had taken her away from Sophie and decided to let her come with them.

"I'm your father, AJ," he informed her. She blinked up at him, not really believing what he was telling her.

"I didn't know…about you I mean, if she'd have told me I'd have…" he trailed off. He'd have what exactly? Been a father to her? Made Sophie get an abortion? Just what would he have done?

"You know now," Yazoo said quietly, as he stopped the truck outside the small shack where they had set up home. He and Kadaj got out of the truck, leaving Loz alone with his daughter.

"I'm sorry…I've never been a father before," he said eventually.

"T-that's ok, I've n-n-never had a f-father before," she whispered. Loz knew that she wasn't trying to be funny; but he snorted a small laugh anyway.

"I suppose you have a point there," he said, he smiled at her. She eyed him warily, she didn't trust him. Loz didn't really blame her for that. It would take time, they would have to get to know each other first, maybe she never would. Loz silently cursed Sophie for never trying to find him to tell him he had a child.

"W-w-what did I d-do?" She asked tentatively. He looked at her then. Her wide, scared eyes and he forced himself to smile.

"You did nothing; it's what I did; what Sophie did," he said.

"T-t-the m-mother d-d-did s-something w-w-wrong?" She asked, not looking at him. He sighed, with one gentle hand he lifted her chin until she was looking him in the eye.

"Listen to me, AJ, no one has the right to hurt you," he told her emphatically. She frowned.

"The m-mother s-s-says I'm e-evil," she said.

"She lied to you. You're not evil, you're just a kid," he said. He could feel her trying to shake her head and she tried to move her head away so she wasn't looking at him, but he refused to let.

"No one has the right to treat you like she did, do you understand me?" He asked. She muttered something that he didn't hear.

"Do you?" He asked again.

"Y-yeah," she said finally. He let her chin go. He jumped down from the back of the truck and then turned lifting her down to the ground.

"This is our home. You'll live here with us now," he told her.


	2. Chapter 2

Part 2

Yazoo watched AJ from the doorway of the shack he and his brothers had been living in for the last few weeks. She was kneeling on the ground not far from the front steps, drawing something in the dirt with a small stick. Loz came out of the cabin and sat on the stoop, a cup of coffee in one hand.

"What are you drawing?" He asked her. She glanced up at him through the long hair that covered her face.

"D-d-dual Hound," she told him, as if he should know what that meant.

"What's that?" He smiled at her. She shrugged and went back to her drawing.

"N-not s-sure yet, it's n-n-not finished," she replied. Loz looked up at Yazoo, who shrugged. He obviously didn't know what she meant by that either. It had been just over a week since they had brought her here to live with them. Her distrust of them had lessened only slightly, she still believed that they were going to hurt her; Loz knew. Nothing could convince her otherwise, except time and patience.

"Here comes Kadaj," Yazoo said. Kadaj had left earlier in the day to go into Midgar and buy some food and other things that they needed. Kadaj pared the truck and got out, grabbing some bags from the back and carrying them to the shack. He stopped by AJ and Loz, holding a bag out towards her.

"I got you some things that I thought you'd like," Kadaj told her. She looked at the bag warily at first then tentatively took it. Kadaj went on into the shack to put away the other things he had purchased. She took from the bag a package of toy cars, a doll, some coloring books a notepad, box of crayons and some books.

"L-loz?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"W-why does he g-g-get these?" She asked him.

"The cars and the doll are for playing with and you like to draw so the crayons and paper are for that and the books are for reading," he said. She blinked and she still didn't seem convinced.

"For me?" She asked. He smiled gently at her.

"That's right," he said.

"W-w-why?" She was going to put them back in the bag because she didn't think they really were for her.

"Every kid needs toys," he replied. She put the crayons, coloring books, paper and toys back in the bag and opened one of the books. Holding it sideways, a look of bemusement on her face. She turned it upside down, after a moment she looked at him as she held the book out to him.

"What does it say?" She asked. He set his coffee cup down beside him and took the book.

"Grimm brothers fairy tales," he read from the front cover. She leaned an elbow on his knee and tried to see the front of his book.

"H-how can y-y-you tell what it s-says?" She was confused. He pointed out the words on the cover.

"These are words, people made them a long time ago and now they can write many things with words," he informed her.

"B-b-but I…c-can't read, L-loz, I d-d-don't un'erstand the words," she told him.

"I know, but don't worry, you'll learn,"

"W-will you t-t-teach her h-how to read and wr-r-r-rite?" She asked shyly.

"How about I teach you?" Yazoo said. He sat down next to Loz, he winked at AJ as he elbowed Loz in the ribs.

"Loz here isn't very patient when it comes to things like that," he told her. AJ looked at him seriously, not understanding that he was half kidding. Loz shoved his brother.

"I'm plenty patient," he said. Yazoo snorted a laugh; he looked at Loz with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, so you want to teach her how to read?" Yazoo asked him.

"Ah…maybe you should teach her numbers as well," Loz suggested.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Yazoo said. He looked at AJ then.

"How old are you?"

"S-she d-don't know," she replied. Yazoo looked at her thoughtfully for a moment.

"I think you'll make a great student," he smiled at her.

"Why don't you go help Kadaj in the kitchen?" He suggested.

"O-ok," she mumbled and went on into the shack.

"We're going to have to do something about that," Yazoo frowned thoughtfully. Loz gave him a confused glance.

"What?" He asked.

"Haven't you noticed the way that she sometimes refers to herself as 'she' and 'her'? It's almost like she's talking about someone else" Yazoo said.

"Why would she do that?" Loz asked. Yazoo shrugged and spread his hands.

"I may be the smart one, but that doesn't mean I know everything," Yazoo shrugged.

They sat on the floor to eat their meals; they didn't have a dining table. They ate off cracked and chipped plates, using spoons; or in AJ's case their fingers. The first time Loz had given her a spoon she had looked at it confused and then asked him what it was for. He had tried to show her how to use it, but she seemed to prefer her hands most of the time. Then she had upended the plate of food on the floor, gotten down on her knees and picked bits of it up and started eating. He had just stared at her for a long moment watching her eat, then he had crouched down next to her and grabbed both her hands.

"What are you doing?" He had asked her.

"T-the mother m-makes me eat off the f-f-floor, s-says that's h-how p-p-pigs eat and I'm a p-p-pig," she had told him.

"You don't have to do that here. You're not a pig," he had said.

Even now she still ate quickly; not really chewing or tasting her food.

"Don't eat so fast, you'll get sick if you do," Loz told her. She paused a handful of food on its way to her mouth.

"Y-y-you'll take it away if I d-don't," she said. What she said and what he knew Sophie had done to AJ still shocked him, but in a strange way he was beginning to expect that whatever way a child could be tormented then Sophie had done it.

"You need to eat and I promise you I won't take it away," Loz said. She shrugged and ate a little slower. Loz began to realise that this was only the beginning.


	3. Chapter 3

Part 3

(set almost two months after last chapter)

"AJ, wake up!" Yazoo said sharply. Her head shot up off the small table that Loz had manage to scrounge up from somewhere. She blinked owlishly at him a few times.

"F-f-five," she said. Yazoo barely managed to contain his smile at this.

"No, not five. Math may be boring, but can you at least try to stay awake until we're done?" He asked. She made a slight face, but nodded. Yazzoo continued the lesson for almost another half an hour before he realised he wasn't holding her attention.

"Okay, you can go play for a while, your father and Kadaj won't be back for a while yet," he told her. She was gone almost before he finished speaking, grabbing a toy truck from the toybox on the way and was out the door with a happy sounding 'vroom'. He sighed a little once she was gone, keeping her attention and interest in lessons was difficult, but once he had it she was eager to know whatever it was he had to teach her. He moved to start cleaning up and then went to do some work on the leather outfits he was making for himself and his brothers for their work as bounty hunters. A few hours later he was finally finished with Kadaj's, when Loz and Kadaj returned home.

"Is AJ playing in her room?" Loz asked. Yazoo gave him a funny look before quickly going outside.

"AJ?" He called, one hand on the doorframe. Kadaj gave Loz a strange look, it was not often they saw their brother so worried. Yazoo hurried over and bent to pick up the fallen toy truck that AJ had taken with her out of the house. He had a very bad feeling and somehow knew that the child wasn't just playing hide n' seek on them.

"Yazoo, where's my daughter?" Loz's voice was concerned, but he didn't sound like he was about to panic. Yazoo shook his head, looking from the truck in his hand to his tall brother.

"I'm not sure. I told her she could come out here and play until you returned. She should be here," he glanced around, almost as if expecting her to appear.

"I asked you to watch her for me while I was gone!" Loz practically yelled at him, turned he walked around behind the house, calling his daughters name in an ever more frantic sounding voice.

"Please, AJ, stop playing around and come out now," Loz came back to them. Kadaj walked forward, he to was worried about his niece.

"Okay, that's enough, we need to calm down," he paused looking from Loz to Yazoo.

"We need to think, where would she go on her own?" He asked. Loz shook his head, spreading his hands in an 'I don't know' gesture. Indeed there were not many places she would go on her own.

"What we need to do is split up and go check wherever she might be and meet back here in an hour?" He looked at his brothers. Both nodded, leaving to complete their tasks, now that they had direction both seemed calmer; more focused. Kadaj for one took the truck and drove out to Sopie's; AJ's mothers store to check there for here, thinking maybe Sophie had taken the child. He found it deserted, frowning he looked around. Why would Sophie leave now? He could think of only one answer. She had taken AJ and didn't want to be found. He got back in the truck, driving back home to meet his brothers; neither of which had found AJ. He was not surprised and quickly shared with them his thoughts on what he believed Sophie had done.


End file.
